


Slippery morning

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Series: Saphael Winter Tales [23]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Black Ice - Freeform, Clumsy Simon, Dogs, First Meeting (kind of), Flirting, Helpful Raphael, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Unlucky Simon, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-02 22:43:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8686192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: "I would suggest not going to work today. It's a little slippery this morning," Raphael commented dryly and suppressed a shiver because he hadn't bothered to put on his jacket and even the rather thick sweater didn't keep off all of the stinging cold. His neighbour looked up and his already red cheeks gained some more colour at the realisation that someone had seen him in this pitiful situation."Yeah, uh, I noticed," the guy mumbled sheepishly and managed to get up on his feet by grabbing the front of his car to steady himself. It was kind of amusing to watch, honestly, and the man reminded Raphael of a newborn deer that failed to control its limbs with the way he was flailing and trying to keep his balance. Just before the other went down again, Raphael reached him and managed to grab his elbow, steadying the guy just in time.





	

Raphael sipped his coffee and drew back the curtain in his living room because he heard someone cursing loudly outside. He had already noticed the layer of ice covering everything right after he got up almost an hour before when he wanted to go for a walk with his dog but in the end, he had decided to let Ezekiel into the small garden because he preferred not to break his neck with this damn black ice. Though it seemed like he was the only one fond of not hurting himself because right now he saw the new neighbour sprawled out into the driveway and it was kind of amazing the guy had even managed it this far without falling on his face.

He felt like watching one of these annoying home videos where people thought it was funny to watch other people hurt themselves and Raphael rolled his eyes at the useless thought but still continued to watch. When the guy managed to get up again, it only took him one step to loose his footing again and the corner of Raphael's mouth twitched into a pained expression because this would certainly leave some marks on the other man's body. He heaved a sigh, put his mug down and wandered into the hallway to grab his boots and the few old towels stored in the small armoire for the times when Ezekiel got dirty and needed some cleaning before being allowed in the house.

Raphael pushed the front door open and told his Doberman to stay put because Ezekiel poked his head out and seemed very tempted to run to their struggling neighbour. Raphael used the towels to place them on the ground and step on them, avoiding the slipperiness of the ice and slowly making his way to the other's driveway.

"I would suggest not going to work today. It's a little slippery this morning," Raphael commented dryly and suppressed a shiver because he hadn't bothered to put on his jacket and even the rather thick sweater didn't keep off all of the stinging cold. His neighbour looked up and his already red cheeks gained some more colour at the realisation that someone had seen him in this pitiful situation.

"Yeah, uh, I noticed," the guy mumbled sheepishly and managed to get up on his feet by grabbing the front of his car to steady himself. It was kind of amusing to watch, honestly, and the man reminded Raphael of a newborn deer that failed to control its limbs with the way he was flailing and trying to keep his balance. Just before the other went down again, Raphael reached him and managed to grab his elbow, steadying the guy just in time.

"T-thank you," his neighbour breathed and smiled almost shyly, his fingers instinctively wrapping around Raphael's lower arm for more leverage. Raphael didn't answer, just tugged the man more towards him to get him on the towel and off the damn ice.

"That's kind of a brilliant idea. With the towels," Simon pointed out, slightly breathless from his struggles against gravity, and Raphael huffed softly because it really wasn't.

"Oh! Uhm, I'm Simon, by the way. Simon Lewis. I moved in two weeks ago," the guy, _Simon_ , introduced himself and offered a gloved hand to shake. Raphael held back a sigh and gave in, shaking the other's hand with a brief "Raphael" and he didn't point out that he obviously knew the other was living next door. They had actually seen each other a few times already and every time Simon had awkwardly waved at him.

"Come on in, I don't have enough towels to get you to your door and you look like you could need a cup of coffee," Raphael offered to his own surprise and turned around, walking back to his open door and leaving it to Simon to pick up the towels after himself. The other looked as surprised at Raphael felt but the emotion was soon replaced by a bright smile and he followed without protest. As soon as Simon stepped into the hallway, he was almost attacked by Ezekiel who was eager to greet their visitor.

For a Doberman, a breed that quite a lot of people were afraid of, his dog was probably the sweetest creature ever. Ezekiel loved to greet people, cuddle with strangers and he really loved children - to Raphael's utter annoyance because he _hated_ kids. These tiny humans were annoying and he only didn't mind them if the kept their mouths shut and stayed away from him.

"Thank you for the coffee," Simon mumbled ten minutes later, when they were sat in Raphael's living room, both a cup in their hands and Ezekiel curled up at their feet. He simply shrugged in reply and it wasn't a big deal to offer a hot drink.

"And you're sure you're not really hurt?" Raphael finally asked and watched the bruise blossoming at the side of Simon's jaw that looked pretty painful. Simon's cheeks blushed a little and he shook his head.

"No, I'm always pretty clumsy so I'm used to a few bruises every once in a while. This is nothing," he replied with a small smile and his eyes seemed to be glued to Raphael's face for a moment, flitting from his eyes down to his mouth and back again.

"I don't know how to properly thank you for your help. You really saved me today," Simon finally said and bit his bottom lip, clearly forcing his eyes to stay on Raphael's. He usually hated it when people looked at him like this but for some reason, he didn't mind it with Simon - the guy seemed genuinely nice and he was admittedly damn good looking.

"Well, a kiss certainly won't do," Raphael commented and the other's eyes widened and he had probably thought Raphael's didn't notice him staring at his lips. Said lips now curled into a smirk.

"How about you invite me to dinner sometime and maybe you will be able to convince me that you deserve a kiss," he added to his own surprise and Simon's eyes widened before his lips stretched into a beaming smile and he nodded quickly enough that he almost spilt part of his coffee. Someone seemed pretty eager to get a kiss out of this and for once in his life Raphael didn't even mind, though getting to know the other a little better would be a good start before he could let anything happen.


End file.
